


There's Something About You In Moonlight

by trxtr



Series: Tk Strand Week 2020 [2]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Relationships, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Jealousy, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Established Relationship, Romance, Tarlos Week (9-1-1 Lone Star), Worried Firefam, Worried TK Strand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:21:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27378652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trxtr/pseuds/trxtr
Summary: Firefighter!CarlosA specific resentment towards a certain over-achieving firefighter turns to an affection that brings Tk to his knees.TK STRAND WEEK DAY 2: "Wait, are you jealous?" + Romance + Tk and the Team
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: Tk Strand Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997830
Comments: 12
Kudos: 71





	There's Something About You In Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tiniestmite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiniestmite/gifts).



> MOSTLY UNEDITED
> 
> I have a very specific playlist I listen to (it’s my tk playlist, 15 hrs long) when i write these and i feel like you can tell when the songs change just by the vibe of the writing lmao
> 
> this is for jamie for being a gem and helping me navigate tumblr ehdhehsbdheh

There was a complex resentment resting in the green irises of the still light-duty-condemned firefighter. He was sat on the couch, eyes locked on a point in between Judd and Paul's chests, past the foosball table. The two were amidst a scuffle that Tk was all too familiar with, along the lines of cheating; spinning the handles. Judd would always accuse Tk of spinning, so the younger figured it best to not play. At least not with Judd. That wasn't the issue, no. The issue was the man in between them, behind the counter, slicing tomatoes in the kitchen.

Carlos Reyes.

Carlos fucking Reyes.

Tk felt himself glaring daggers at the other, even before Mateo joined him on the couch. He was listening, only a little, to the boy as he spoke, but Tk was preoccupied. He was busy watching the tall man across from him, biceps tensing every time he would lift the knife to slice another tomato. 

_He could cut me and I would thank him._

His knuckles were white holding onto the armrest of the couch. He felt his eyes focus in, just a little more, on the way that Carlos stuck out his tongue as he focused. It was as if he were tasting the air, picking out just the right time to stop, when the scents blended together and drew his tastebuds into a false activity. Tk could practically see him thinking, and, true to his initial observation, the minute Carlos pulls his tongue back into his mouth, the knife was hitting the island with a clang, and Carlos was reaching for a head of lettuce with about a third of a tomato left on the counter.

God, he hated him.

He hated that Carlos had practically replaced him in the 126 family, on calls, cooking, even Buttercup's paws tended to pad up to Carlos as much as they did Tk. He hated that Carlos could flash a smile and his father would fall at the younger's beckoned call. He hated the fact that from the moment they hired him, he had become an obvious family favorite. He hated the uttered words from his teammates, talking about how _Carlos did—_ and _Carlos wants—_. He hated his stupid smile, or the way his lips glistened the slightest bit after he licked them. He hated his charm, his youth and excitement. Tk hated everything about Carlos Reyes.

Which made it so much worse when Tk found himself longing to be that nonexistent, tasteful air. It made it unbearable when he found himself staring at that knife, imagining how it would feel to be pressed against a wall by the firefighter, the knife at his throat.

_I'm supposed to be the cute baby gay guy that the team fawns over. Get the fuck out of here. Maybe come back to my place._

He felt so fucking stupid. So inferior. This wasn't fair. He had even helped get Carlos hired, and they got along. They really did. Tk even thought there might have been the slightest spark, but all that was thrown out the window the moment a bullet tore through Tk's chest.

_"Was that a gunshot?"_

_"Tk?"_

_"Tk."_

_"Tk!"_

Carlos had been there. Carlos had kept Tk awake; kept him talking until he and his father had to back away. It ripped Carlos apart. Tk could see it. The damage that bullet did to him transferred onto the other man so quick that half the time he would trap his brain into thinking Carlos was the bullet hole left of center.

But, no, Tk was the one with the nasty scar, and Carlos was the one who kept _looking at him._

There wasn't a sliver of a doubt that the other hand fallen for him, hard and fast, and Tk just wasn't ready for that.

The issue on the foosball table—the common ground between the two at the current moment—was the fact that the amount of love that Tk held for the other matched Carlos's almost to a T. He loved everything about him, the way he laughed, or threw his arms back in exasperation when he got stuck on rig duty with probie, or the way his adam's apple bobbed up and down with every single change in the pitch of his voice.

He hated himself for loving him, so naturally, he wouldn't let himself be happy.

"What's got your dick in a knot?"

Tk averted his gaze to meet the eyes of Marjan, sitting with her feet laid across the probie's lap, She was relaxed; comfortable, which, for some reason, forced Tk into a deeper seeded anger. "What gets my 'dick in a knot' is when people don't butt out if my business," Tk snapped, almost instantly regretting it. He didn't mean to mess with Marjan's feelings. He knew that she was only human, and though she put on a front of indifference, Tk saw right through it. "Now, wait, I'm sorry, I just."

"You've been looking at Carlos like a meal for the past twenty minutes."

"And?"

"Didn't you two have a fling?" She asked, her perfectly arched eyebrow managing to raise just a smidgen higher. He could see the smile on her face growing when a light pink was brushed over his pale cheeks.

"Since when do you care about me?" He hissed. His eyes settled back on Carlos, the same distaste in them, afraid to let anything else through.

"Tk, I have always—" Marjan cut herself off. A grin crept onto her features, mischievous eyes locking with Mateo's for a moment, before she spoke again. "Wait, are you jealous?"

Tk let out an exasperated groan, throwing his head back. "Oh my god, Marj, shut up."

"Its okay," Mateo interjected, "I understand why, I mean, he _is_ Carlos—"

"Tk."

The three snapped their attention from their banter to the Tall, muscular figure who Tk had miraculously zoned out long enough to allow him to walk over to them relatively unnoticed.

The smaller's breath hitched earn he realized his gaze was now practically perpendicular to his abdomen. Tk swallowed, eyes darting up to stare at the other's obviously annoyed, piercing brown eyes.

_Keep your cool. You got this. Yes you do._

"Yes?"

The reply came out a squeak, and Tk silently cursed his tense vocal cords. He just wanted to be big; be good on his own. Be okay with himself enough that he was okay with this.

"Can we talk? Privately?"

Tk felt himself stiffen, eyes going wide for a moment. He practically gagged himself by how sharp he inhaled. He let himself glance at Marjan and Mateo, who were now snickering about something—probably him. He nodded, anyway, seeing as he was about to get no help from either of his friends.

Tk stood, and watched as Carlos led him to the on call room. Tk could see his shoulder blades through his uniform; tense, angry. He wanted nothing more than to make that go away, but Tk knew he was most likely about to just get his ass whooped.

Not that he had any problem with that.

“What the hell is your problem, Tk?”

“Pardon?”

Carlos sat down on his on call bed, looking up at the smaller boy in genuine haste. There was no inclination of anger. Instead, he could see genuine hurt in Carlos’s features. Pain, like he was actually, genuinely distressed by the development of Tk Strand hating his guts. 

“Why do you hate me so much? What did I do? I thought we were—“

“You didn’t do anything.”

Tk cut him off. His response was abrupt, and it was evident that he was teetering on the edge of a tender panic; one where he would be able to function, but the slightest inkling of a southbound situation would always loom over the brunettes head. 

_Fuck you, Carlos Reyes._

Tk made the mistake of making eye contact with the other, and the glisten of horrified tears in the other’s eyes made Tk want to reach out and apologize, and kiss him, and make him feel like he was worth it, because Carlos was so worth it that Tk would lose himself if he made any attempt to pursue this.

_Keep him at a distance._

“No, I definitely did something.” Carlos’s voice was shaky. He was very clearly upset. Tk suspected that he’d been taking notice of the laser holes in his back from Tk’s gaze. He was obviously frustrated.

“No you didn’t.” Tk looked at him, finally letting a tiny bit of that initial guard fall from its foundation. It shattered to pieces as it landed and Tk almost immediately panicked when he felt the wall begin to tumble.

“No, I did. I did. Ever since that fucking call... ever since you got shot all you have done is ignore me. I thought you liked me. Your dad said he hired me because you liked me. I don’t get it, Tk, I don’t want you to hate me. I don’t understand why you do, I just want to be someone that matters. Someone to you and the rest of the team and—“

“Oh you’re _definitely_ someone to them, Carlos. Trust me.”

“I want to be someone to you!”

That was it.

That was the wrecking ball that forced Tk to stumble back and gather his thoughts. His wall was coming down. It was coming down quick, and Tk was caught in the collapse. He had another, half built one behind it, and Tk had a choice to make. He could either dig himself underneath it, and hide from his feelings, stay underground where no one could touch him, or he could choose to climb it; hurdle the wall and explore the ideas on the other side.

And Tk’s fingers were tired of digging.

“You are! That’s the fucking problem, Carlos!”

Tk didn’t even remember saying the words, but once they were out into the world, hanging back over that metaphorical foosball table, Tk was faced with another decision. Should he spin, and cheat his way into the goal, or should he play the game, and explain himself, and pray that somehow Carlos was less coordinated.

_Fuck it._

“Everyone loves you. That’s the point. Everyone especially me. When my dad told me that you were crying over me... over _me_ , I didn’t know what the fuck to think. I thought maybe it was this thing where I would wake up and you could explain it to me, but by the time I did everyone was coddling you, like you had just euthanized your fucking dog. I don’t know what happened in the in between, Carlos. I can’t remember anything. At all. All I remember is waking up to a team split between taking care of us, and I couldn’t help but feel like that was my fucking fault.” He threw himself back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, one hand moving to lay over the still-healing-scar on his chest. “I hurt you, Carlos, and I couldn’t live with that, so I figured if maybe I could make you hate me; hurt me a little more, it would lessen that blow.”

Tk scooted back until his head hit the wall. He was done. No more crossroads. No more walls. Just him and Carlos, and a shit ton of unresolved anger towards one another. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want this baggage. He wanted Carlos. Him. That was all he fucking wanted, and it took him forever just to accept it.

“It’s not your fault you got shot, Tk.”

“Yeah but it’s my fault you even got involved with me in the first place.”

“Tk.”

Tk grumbled and sat up, surprised to see Carlos now standing at the foot of the bed. His arms weren’t crossed, like before, and the aforementioned tears were now dripping down his cheeks. He took a visible breath before speaking again. “I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I know for a fact that I signed up for you. For all of it. I don’t do random hookups unless I see them going somewhere. I...” He took a couple steps, reaching out. He let his hand tenderly graze the skin in Tk’s cheek, his other one finding a spot on top of the boy’s hand on his chest. “I was so scared that I finally found something and I was gonna lose it so quickly, and then I didn’t, and then I did, and that... That’s what hurt me.”

Tk felt the hairs in the back of his neck stand up, his breath catching in his throat. He let his other hand place itself on top of Carlos’s, on his cheek. He let his eyes flutter closed, body seeming to relax. He thought for a moment, before opening his mouth to speak.

“I don’t wanna hurt you anymore.”

“Then don’t.”

Tk’s eyes flickered open to Carlos an inch closer, and Tk got the hint. He dropped his hand from his cheek and pulled the other’s to snake behind his neck. Tk leaned forward and pressed a soft Kiss to the other’s lips; Innocent; sweet, unlike anything they had tried up to this point. This wasn’t hurting anything. This wasn’t a prerequisite to anything. This was just a pure, tender kiss.

And it felt so fucking good.

When they broke, the boys found themselves pressing their foreheads and noses together, Tk’s hand on Carlos’s ear, Carlos’s resting in the others lap.

And in that moment of kind, peaceful silence, the special resentment melted from the green irises, and replaced itself with unrequited adoration.

“I won’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are appreciated. I love you all!!


End file.
